Crews still can't bridge the gap: Nothing going over or under Sarah Long Bridge until Monday at earliest

By Andrea Bulfinch

abulfinch@fosters.com

fosters.com

By Andrea Bulfinch

abulfinch@fosters.com

Posted Jan. 26, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Andrea Bulfinch

abulfinch@fosters.com

Posted Jan. 26, 2013 at 3:15 AM

PORTSMOUTH — Barring unforeseen problems, New Hampshire state transportation officials are hoping the Sarah Long Bridge will be back in operation by Monday at the latest.

NHDOT Bridge Maintenance Assistant Administrator Steve Johnson told the press on Friday crews won't know what further damage has been done until the bridge is actually lifted.

“We appear to be making some good progress,” he said.

The bridge was pushed off track during a routine lift Wednesday afternoon by strong winds.

One of the bridge guides has been pushed back into place by the nearly dozen workers completing the task of repairing the span. The “upriver” support guide, Johnson said appears to be a little more bent than thought and crews continue their efforts to push that back into place.

“My belief is that it will be open by Monday barring any other problems that we haven't seen right now,” he said.

While there is no definite timeline as to when the bridge will reopen, Johnson said crews are working diligently under pressure as maritime traffic making fuel deliveries is held up because of the bridge problem.

With temperatures continuing to hover around zero on Friday, Johnson said repair crews would be working on the structure for the remainder of the day and until work was completed.

Johnson said he was aware there were vessels scheduled to pass through the river sometime over the weekend.

“There's no definite timeline on when we're going to have the bridge open,” he said.

Using hydraulic jacks, crews are working to get the support guides back into alignment, he explained.

The closure leaves only the Piscataqua River Bridge spanning between New Hampshire and Maine for travelers.

“We'll be out here until we have the thing open and operating again,” he said.